Washington Territory, 1886 Jacob and Nell Ellstrom step from ship to shore and are struck dumb by the sight of their new home—the Harbor, a ragged township of mud streets and windowless shacks. In the years to come this will be known as one of the busiest and most dangerous ports in the world, and with Jacob's station as the only town physician, prosperity and respect soon rain down on the Ellstroms. Then their son, Duncan, is born, and these are grand days, busy and full of growth. But when a new physician arrives, Jacob is revealed as an impostor, a fraud, and he flees, leaving his wife and son to fend for themselves.Years later, on a fated Fourth of July picnic, Duncan Ellstrom falls in love. Her name is Teresa Boyerton, and her father owns the largest sawmill in the Harbor. Their relationship is forbidden by class and by circumstance, because without Jacob there to guide him, Duncan has gone to work for Hank Bellhouse, the local crime boss. Now, if Duncan wants to be with Teresa, he must face not only his past, but the realities of a dark and violent world and his place within it.Told from various points of view, Brian Hart's novel follows the evolution of the Harbor from a mudstamp outpost to a city that rivals the promise of San Francisco. The Bully of Order is a meditation on progress, love, and identity; a spellbinding novel of fate and redemption—told with a muscular lyricism and filled with a cast of characters Shakespearean in scope—where everyone is as much at the mercy of the weather as they are of the times.

For fans of Downton Abbey . . . The peaceful beauty of the English countryside belies the turmoil of forbidden love and the apprehension of a changing world for the families of NetherwoodYorkshire, 1904. On Netherwood Common, Russian émigré Anna Rabinovich shows her dear friend Eve Williams a gracious Victorian villa—Ravenscliffe—the house Anna wants them to live in. There's a garden and a yard and room enough for their children to play and grow. Something about the house speaks to Anna, and you should listen to a house, she believes...Ravenscliffe holds the promise of happiness. Across the square, Clarissa and her husband, the Earl of Netherwood, are preparing for King Edward's visit. Clarissa is determined to have everything in top shape at Netherwood Hall—in spite of the indolent heir to the estate, Tobias, and his American bride—and much of it depends on the work going on downstairs as the loyal servants strive to preserve the noble family's dignity and reputation.As Anna restores Ravenscliffe to its full grandeur, she strikes up a relationship with hardworking Amos Sykes—who proposed to Eve just one year ago. But when Eve's long-lost brother Silas turns up in their close-knit mining community, cracks begin to appear in even the strongest friendships.As change comes to the small town and society at large, the residents of Netherwood must find their footing or lose their place altogether.

Two remarkably different worlds—one of wealth and privilege, the other of poverty and desperation—are about to collide in one shattering moment in this mesmerizing tale of high drama, forbidden love, and families fighting to hold on to what they haveUpstairs: Lord Netherwood, a coal baron, earns his considerable wealth from the three mines he owns. Supplying a bustling industrial empire with the highest-quality coal keeps his coffers filled—money he needs to run his splendid estate, Netherwood Hall, and to dress his wife and daughters in the latest fashions. And keeping his heir, the charming but feckless Tobias, out of trouble, doesn't come cheap.Downstairs: Eve Williams, the wife of one of Lord Netherwood's most stalwart employees, cleverly manages her family's well-being on the low wages her hardworking husband earns in the mines. But when her ordered life amid the terraced rows of miners' houses is brought crashing down by the twin arrivals of tragedy and charity, Eve must look to her own self-sufficiency and talent to provide for her three young children. And soon the divide between "upstairs" and "downstairs" is about to close . . .and neither world will ever be the same.

The beach house is a peaceful haven, a place to escape everyday problems. Here, three families find their feelings intensified and their lives transformed each summer.When thirty-year-old Julia, mourning the death of her husband, decides to sell the Santa Cruz beach house they owned together, she sets in motion a final summer that will change the lives of all the families who rent it year after year. Teenaged Chris discovers the bittersweet joy of first love. Maggie and Joe, married sixty-five years, courageously face a separation that even their devotion cannot prevent. The married woman Peter yearns for suddenly comes within his reach. And Julia ultimately finds the strength to rebuild her life—something she once thought impossible.With equal measures of heartbreak and happiness, bestselling author Georgia Bockoven's unforgettable novel tells of the beauty of life and the power of love, and speaks to every woman who has ever clung to a child or loved a man.

As a cop on the night shift in Hopewell Falls, New York, June Lyons drives drunks home and picks up the doughnuts. A former FBI agent, she left the Bureau when her husband died, and now she and her young daughter are back in upstate New York, living with her father, the town's retired chief of police.When June discovers a young woman's body impaled on an ice shear in the frozen Mohawk River, news of the murder spreads fast; the dead girl was the daughter of a powerful local congresswoman, and her troubled youth kept the gossips busy. Though June was born and raised in Hopewell Falls, the local police see her as an interloper—resentment that explodes in anger when the FBI arrive and deputize her to work on the murder investigation. But June may not find allies among the feds. The agent heading the case is someone from her past—someone she isn't sure she can trust.As June digs deeper, her already tumultuous murder case turns red-hot when it leads to a notorious biker gang and a meth lab hidden in plain sight—and an unmistakable sign that the river murder won't be the last.

Danny Shanklin is the world's most wanted man.Hunted by nine international intelligence agencies for a terrorist atrocity he did not commit, he's now trapped in a deadly race against the clock to protect his life, his family, and the world from the people responsible—people intent on true destruction. For though they framed him, these terrorists are really after a much bigger target: six lethal smallpox formulations, any one of which could trigger a global pandemic, leaving only one in three people alive.With the help of a Ukrainian mercenary and a ruthless female assassin, Danny soon finds himself forced into the roles of both predator and prey—as he tries desperately to win the fight of his life.

“A poignant and sly magic trick of a book.”—San Francisco ChronicleHaunted by the disappearance of his older brother in the first Gulf War, the tragic deaths of his parents, and a lingering felony conviction, for almost a decade Roy Joseph has worked on oil rigs off the coast of Louisiana and lived in lonesome exile. Then, on the cusp of his thirtieth birthday, Roy is contacted by a teenager from California claiming to be his lost brother’s biological daughter. Yearning for the prospect of family, Roy embarks on a journey across America, visiting childhood haunts in the South to confront his troubled past, and making a stop in Nevada to call on a retired Navy SEAL who may hold the answer to his brother’s fate. Roy’s ultimate destination is San Francisco, where his potential long-lost niece awaits. The Other Joseph is a powerful, spellbinding tale of a man nearly defeated by life who is given one last chance at redemption—one last shot to find meaning and alter the course of his solitary existence.“Big, tough, and ravishing, a ghost story in the voice of a lost brother, an elegy with the ache and grace of deeply lived life in it.”—Lauren Groff, author of Fates and Furies and Arcadia

The Elizabethan Bond is back . . .Under the threat of a second Spanish Armada, John Shakespeare is sent to Lancashire to guard over England's secret weapon and its inventor, the maverick magician Dr. Dee.But nothing is so simple when the country is a hotbed of secret loyalties and civil unrest. During his mission, Shakespeare stumbles upon Catholic priests in hiding, a mysterious Bohemian seductress, and—of course—murder.Between facing off with a nefarious witch hunter and attending one of the first performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the intrepid John Shakespeare fights to stay alive while on the hunt for a deadly traitor.

England is a viper's nest of conspiracy.It is 1852, and the conflict between Protestants and Catholics threatens to tear the country in two. While Queen Elizabeth I holds the reins of power, there are those whose loyalty lies with her imprisoned cousin—Mary, Queen of Scots.On his first major mission for Sir Francis Walsingham, the young John Shakespeare is ordered to untangle a conspiracy to free the Stuart queen from Sheffield Castle. All too soon, he realizes that the tentacles of the plot reach deep into his native Warwickshire and threaten his own friends and family. His duty lies with Elizabeth … but how far will he go to protect those he loves?

On a rain-swept hillside, hounds from the local foxhunt discover the body of a well-dressed man. At that exact moment, an anonymous caller reports the same body . . . lying half a mile away.It's only the first in a series of baffling clues as Ben Cooper and Diane Fry—partners and rivals on the detective force —plunge into a case involving horses, spectacular wealth, and a mysterious "plague village" where a centuries-old outbreak of Black Death has been transformed into a modern tourist attraction.As the spring rain falls and the body count rises, Cooper and Fry's investigation twists back to the recent past. A killer lurks in the shadows there—a killer now hiding in plain sight . . .Atmospheric and ingenious, packed with suspense and secrets, The Kill Call is an unforgettable thriller from an unforgettable writer.

From the PEN/Faulkner finalist and critically acclaimed author of Hold It 'Til It Hurts comes a dark and socially provocative Southern-fried comedy about four UC Berkeley students who stage a dramatic protest during a Civil War reenactment—a fierce, funny, tragic work from a bold new writerWelcome to Braggsville. The City That Love Built in the Heart of Georgia. Population 712.Born and raised in the heart of old Dixie, D'aron Davenport finds himself in unfamiliar territory his freshman year at UC Berkeley. Two thousand miles and a world away from his childhood, he is a small-town fish floundering in the depths of a large hyperliberal pond. Caught between the prosaic values of his rural hometown and the intellectualized multicultural cosmopolitanism of "Berzerkeley," the nineteen-year-old white kid is uncertain about his place, until one disastrous party brings him three idiosyncratic best friends: Louis, a "kung fu comedian" from California; Candice, an earnest do-gooder from Iowa claiming Native roots; and Charlie, an introspective inner-city black teen from Chicago. They dub themselves the "4 Little Indians."But everything changes in the group's alternative history class, when D'aron lets slip that his hometown hosts an annual Civil War reenactment, recently rebranded "Patriot Days." His announcement is met with righteous indignation and inspires Candice to suggest a "performative intervention" to protest the reenactment. Armed with youthful self-importance, makeshift slave costumes, righteous zeal, and their own misguided ideas about the South, the 4 Little Indians descend on Braggsville. Their journey through backwoods churches, backroom politics, Waffle Houses, and drunken family barbecues is uproarious at first but has devastating consequences.With the keen wit of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and the deft argot of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, T. Geronimo Johnson has written an astonishing, razor-sharp satire. Using a panoply of styles and tones, from tragicomic to Southern Gothic, he skewers issues of class, race, intellectual and political chauvinism, Obamaism, social media, and much more.A literary coming-of-age novel for a new generation, written with tremendous social insight and a unique, generous heart, Welcome to Braggsville reminds us of the promise and perils of youthful exuberance, while painting an indelible portrait of contemporary America.

With the storytelling power of Wally Lamb and the emotional fidelity of Lorrie Moore, this is the searing drama of an American family on the brink of dissolution, one that explores adoption, gay marriage, and true love lost and found For years, Matthew Greene and Daniel Rosen have enjoyed a contented domestic life in Northampton, Massachusetts. Opposites in many ways, they have grown together and made their relationship work. But when they learn that Daniel's twin brother and sister-in-law have been killed in a Jerusalem bombing, their lives are suddenly, utterly transformed. The deceased couple have left behind two young children, and their shocked and grieving families must decide who will raise six-year-old Gal and baby Noam. When it becomes clear that Daniel's brother and sister-in-law had wanted Matt and Daniel to be the children's guardians, the two men find themselves confronted by challenges that strike at the heart of their relationship. What is Matt's place in an extended family that does not completely accept him or the commitment he and Daniel have madeHow do Daniel's complex feelings about Israel and this act of terror affect his ability to recover from his brother's deathAnd what kind of parents can these two men really be to children who have lost so muchThe impact that this instant new family has on Matt, Daniel, and their relationship is subtle and heartbreaking, yet not without glimmers of hope. They must learn to reinvent and redefine their bond in profound, sometimes painful ways. How does a family become strong enough to stay together and endure when its very basis has drastically changedAnd are there limits to honesty or commitment—or love?

Previously published in the print anthology Star Over Bethlehem: Poems and Holiday Stories.A retelling of the Christmas story like you've never heard it before.Mary is alone in the stable with the baby Jesus when an angel arrives and offers her a difficult decision to make.

A leading historian and bestselling author re-creates the growth, decline, and legacy of 3,000 Years of Egyptian civilization with an authoritative text splendidly illustrated with 150 illustrations in full color.Ancient Egypt, with its legacy of pyramids, pharaohs and sphinxes, is a land of power and mystery to the modern world. In The Civilization of Ancient Egypt Paul Johnson explores the growth and decline of a culture that survived for 3,000 years and maintained a purity of style that rivals all others. Johnson's study looks in detail at the state, religion, culture and geographical setting and how they combined in this unusually enduring civilization. From the beginning of Egyptian culture to the rediscovery of the pharaohs, the book covers the totalitarian theocracy, the empire of the Nile, the structure of dynastic Egypt, the dynastic way of death, hieroglyphs, the anatomy of perspective art and, finally, the decline and fall of the pharaohs, Johnson seeks, through an exciting combination of images and analysis, to discover the causes behind the collapse of this, great civilization while celebrating the extra-ordinary legacy it has left behind.Paul Johnson on Ancient Egypt and the Egyptians"Egypt was not only the first state, it was the first country.... The durability of the state which thus evolved was ensured by the overwhelming simplicity and power of its central institution, the theocratic monarchy." "The Egyptians did not share the Babylonian passion for astrology, but they used the stars as one of many guides to behavior. No Egyptian believed in a free exercise of will in important decisions: he always looked for an omen or a prophecy or an oracle." "The development of hieroglyphics mirrors and epitomizes the history of Egyptian civilization. . . . No one outside Egypt understood it and even within Egypt it was the exclusive working tool of the ruling and priestly classes. The great mass of Egyptians were condemned to illiteracy by the complexities (and also the beauties) of the Egyptian written language.""The affection the Egyptians were not. ashamed to display towards their children was related to the high status women enjoyed in Egyptian society.""If we can understand Egyptian art we can go a long way towards grasping the very spirit and outlook on life, of this gifted people, so remote in time. The dynamic of their civilization seems to have been a passionate love of order (maat to them), by which they sought to give to human activities and creations the same regularity as their landscape, their great river, their sun-cycle and their immutable seasons."

Relentless and ominous, the drumbeat echoes across the land: Social Security is on the verge of bankruptcy. These repeated warnings have become a dismal article of faith for the millions of Americans who pay Social Security taxes and expect to collect benefits someday. But they are flatly untrue. Social Security today is on a stronger financial footing than it has been for decades. The Plot Against Social Security will explain who is really behind the efforts to reform this system and will show that the most frequently proposed fix increased privatization will damage it beyond repair by undermining retirement security for generations to come. Award-winning journalist Michael Hiltzik also offers a clear set of remedies for those few elements of Social Security that do need repair proposals that will shore up the most efficient social insurance program in America's history, rather than destroying it in the name of reform.

In Giant, Plaxico Burress takes you into the locker room, onto the practice field, and into the huddle, providing a flat-out-honest look at life on and off the field with the New York Giants and at the making of a champion. Throughout the 2007 season, Plaxico battled near-crippling injuries, and despite rarely practicing, being heavily bandaged, and on serious painkillers, he led the New York Giants in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He continued to play through pain in the playoffs, only to be further injured before Super Bowl XLII. Playing the arrogant Patriots who were inviting the Giants to their victory party before the game was over Plaxico concealed a significant injury that might have changed the outcome of the game if the Pats had known.When he first joined the Giants, Plaxico expected to be the go-to guy for the young quarterback Eli Manning. What he didn't expect was the media and fan scrutiny that was heaped on Manning as they battled to win games.What Plaxico also didn't expect was the difficult relationship he had with head coach Tom Coughlin, who was a stickler for discipline and who would fine players for even the mildest offenses. For five years Plaxico had played for the laid-back Bill Cowher and the Pittsburgh Steelers. In contrast, within weeks of joining the Giants, Plaxico and Coughlin were butting heads, and the fines followed. But there to make things a little easier were friends like Jeremy Shockey and Amani Toomer, nearly polar opposites. With Shock, everything was always full-tilt and his mouth would usually get him into trouble. Toomer was the easygoing elder statesman at times absentminded, but a brilliant receiver. And in 2007, Manning, with Plaxico's advice and support, would rise above the scrutinizing media and come into his own, and Coach Coughlin would relax his grip somewhat and let the team breathe. The results were obvious.It's all here. The ups and downs, the trash-talking, the sweat and blood, and what it takes to be the best.

Polish poet and essayist Zbigniew Herbert easily stands beside Nobel Prize laureates Milosz and Szymborska as part of a remarkable literary tradition. Though Herbert is very much an Eastern European writer, the urgency, vitality, and relevance of his work extend far beyond the borders of his particular region and his particular time. His fascination with other subjects from painting to all things Dutch enriched the scope and depth of his poetry, and made for compelling explorations in his essays and short prose pieces.The first collected English edition of his prose work, this outstanding volume consists of four books Labryinth on the Sea, Still Life with a Bridle, King of the Ants, and Barbarian in the Garden. Brilliant and erudite, dazzling and witty, these essays survey the geography of humanity, its achievements and its foibles. From Western civilization's past, as witnessed through the Greek and Roman landscape, to musings on the artistic that celebrate the author's discriminating eye, poetic sensibility, and gift for irony, humor, and the absurd; from a sage retelling of myths and tales that became twentieth-century philosophical parables of human behavior to thoughts on art, culture, and history inspired by journeys in France, Italy, and the Netherlands, Collected Prose is a rich compendium that celebrates the mastery and wisdom of a remarkable artist.

In October 2002, Susan Polk, a housewife and mother of three, was arrested for the murder of her husband, Felix. The arrest in her sleepy northern California town kicked off what would become one of the most captivating murder trials in recent memory, as police, local attorneys, and the national media sought to unravel the complex web of events that sent this seemingly devoted housewife over the edge.Now, with the exclusive access and in-depth reporting that made A Deadly Game a number one New York Times bestseller, Catherine Crier turns an analytical eye to the story of Susan Polk, delving into her past and examining how over twenty years of marriage culminated in murder. Tracing the family's history, Crier skillfully maneuvers the murky waters of the Polk's marriage, looking at the real story behind Susan, Felix, and their unorthodox courtship. When Susan was in high school, Felix, who was more than twenty years her senior, had been her psychologist, and it was during their sessions that the romantic entanglement began. From these troubling origins grew a difficult marriage, one which produced three healthy boys but also led to disturbing accusations of abuse from both spouses.With extraordinary detail, Crier dissects this dangerous relationship between husband and wife, exposing their psychological motivations and the painful impact that these motivations had on their sons, Adam, Eli, and Gabriel. Drawing on sources from all sides of the case, Crier masterfully reconstructs the tumultuous chronology of the Polk family, telling the story of how Susan and Felix struggled to control their rambunctious sons and their disintegrating marriage in the years and months leading up to Felix's death.But the history of the Polk family is only half the story. Here Crier also elucidates the methodical police work of the murder investigation, revealing never-before-seen photos and writings from the case file. In addition, she carefully scrutinizes the many twists and turns of the remarkable trial, exploring Susan's struggles with her defense attorneys and her shocking decision to represent herself.Dark, psychological, and terrifying, Final Analysis is a harrowing look at the recesses of the human mind and the trauma that reveals them.

Born in the mountains above Venice in the late fifteenth century, Tiziano Vecellio or Titian was the greatest painter of the Venetian High Renaissance. A poetic visionary and a technical master of oils, he painted everything, from frescoes and grand altarpieces to mythological stories and portraits works described by his contemporaries as "mirrors of nature."Sheila Hale's rich biography is the first since 1877 to examine all contemporary accounts of Titian's life and work as well as recent art historical scholarship, some of it previously unpublished. Her book charts the extraordinary transformation of Titian's style: from the radiant, minutely realized masterpieces of his youth, to the more freely painted work of his middle years, to the dark, tragic, sometimes terrifying visions of his old age. Drawing on the latest scientific examinations of his paintings, Hale seeks to explain the evolution of his methods and his art. In doing so, she also gives many different voices from Titian's lifetime to today free reign to explore, praise, and sometimes doubt his genius.When Titian died in 1576, in his late eighties, he had spent the whole of his working life in Venice the most celebrated city in Europe traveling as little as possible despite the clamor for his presence at the great courts of the continent. He had witnessed wars, Ottoman invasions, and the rising Protestant threat to the Catholic Church. He had become the favored painter of both Charles V the most powerful man in the world and his son, Philip II of Spain, who became Titian's most important patron.Sheila Hale's masterly biography presents Titian through the lens of the turbulent times in which he lived and explores how this innovative sixteenth-century master conveyed in his paintings a kind of truth that few other artists have been able to communicate, which has fascinated Titian's admirers and followers ever since.

An edge-of-your-seat original prequel based on Showtime's hit series HomelandBeirut, 2006. CIA operations officer Carrie Mathison barely escapes an ambush while attempting a clandestine meeting with a new contact, code-name Nightingale. Suspicious that security has been compromised, she challenges the station chief in a heated confrontation that gets her booted back to Langley.Expert in recognizing and anticipating behavioral patterns—a skill enhanced by her bipolar disorder she keeps secret to protect her career—Carrie is increasingly certain that a terrorist plot has been set in motion. She risks a shocking act of insubordination that helps her uncover secret evidence connecting Nightingale with Abu Nazir, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Determined to stop the terrorist mastermind, she embarks on an obsessive quest that will nearly destroy her.Filled with the suspense and plot twists that have made Homeland a must-watch series, this riveting tale reveals the compelling untold backstories of the series' main characters and takes fans deeper into the life and mind of one brilliant female spy.

If you could live forever, what would you die for?Five hundred years ago, a group of Spanish conquistadors searching for gold, led by a young and brilliant commander named Simón de Oliveras y Seixas, land in the New World. What they find in the sunny and humid swamps of this uncharted land is a treasure far more valuable: the Fountain of Youth. The Spaniards slaughter the Water Clan of the Uzita, the Native American tribe that guards the precious liquid that will keep the conquistadors young for centuries. But one of them escapes: Shako, the chief's fierce and beautiful daughter, who swears to avenge her people—a blood oath that spans more than five centuries.When the source of the fountain is destroyed in our own time, the loss threatens Simon and his men, and the powerful, shadowy empire of wealth and influence they have built. For help, they turn to David Robinton, a scientific prodigy who believes he is on the verge of the greatest medical breakthrough of all time. But as the centuries-old war between Shako and Simon reaches its final stages, David makes a horrifying discovery about his employers and the mysterious and exotic woman he loves. Now the scientist must decide: Is he a pawn in a game of immortals . . . or will he be its only winner?